Fall is here in all of her glory – vivid oranges, reds and golds adorn the trees and the air is crisp and delightful. As I watch the leaves falling from the trees I see one spiral down, then lift back up, and swirl back down again… which is fine for leaves, but not so much for people! I can’t help but think of the patients we see here at The Upper Cervical Clinic that come in searching for help from that dizzy, spinning, falling feeling called Vertigo.
Vertigo (dizziness) is a condition that actually affects a large percentage of people. Vertigo is a feeling that you or your surroundings are moving when there is no actual movement. You may feel as though you are spinning, whirling, falling, or tilting, much like the aforementioned Fall leaf in the wind.
When you have severe vertigo, you could also feel nauseated and perhaps vomit. You may have trouble just standing, and even lose your balance and fall. Vertigo occurs when there is conflict between the signals sent to the brain by various balance and position-sensing systems of the body. Your brain uses input from four sensory systems to maintain your sense of balance and orientation to your surroundings.
Common causes of vertigo include:
- Inner ear disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis, or labyrinthitis.
- Injury to the ear or head.
- Migraine headaches, which are painful, debilitating headaches that often occur with vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, noise, and smell.
- Decreased blood flow through the arteries that supply blood to the base of the brain (vertebrobasilar insufficiency).
Some of these disturbances are caused by the atlas (C1) or axis (C2) being out of alignment. If the C1 or C2 vertebrae/bone in your neck (which supports your skull) is out of alignment it structurally causes your head to be off center and this can cause a number of health issues… one issue being vertigo.
The vertebral artery, which supplies blood to your brain, goes through the atlas and axis to the brain. If these are out of alignment and you turn your head from side to side, you momentarily block off the blood supply through the vertebral artery. Dizziness can then be brought on by a brief disturbance to that vital blood supply to your brain.
The Upper Cervical Clinic has had positive results treating patients with vertigo by giving a very specific adjustment to their C1, C2 bones.
If you want to enjoy this Fall season without the dizzy feeling of falling – the choice is yours. Self-medicate and live with limitations, or give The Upper Cervical Clinic a call to see if there is a correctable cause to your dizziness, and live the life you were created to live.
